The Unexpected
by Silroc
Summary: AU SAO fic which is my answer to the question "What might have been different if Suguha had been trapped in SAO with Kazuto?" A few OCs may be introduced but not as main characters. Primary ship will be Kirisuna. There is another planned for Suguha. Rating will be primarily PG13. I do not own anything related to SAO.
1. Chapter 1: Unexpected Bonus

**Chapter 01**

Kazuto Kirigaya sighed briefly as he logged out of Sword Art Online and blinked slowly as he opened his eyes to the real world again. His time in the Beta test had come to a close, and now he would have to wait for the official launch to return to the world he felt more at home in than here with his... family.

As he slipped the Nervegear off, he sat up and absently rubbed the back of his neck. He had been spending so much time in the virtual world he was starting to get sore from lack of exercise. The house was silent, and he knew he was home alone for the moment. Suguha was probably at her school with the kendo club, and his aunt was at work.

He was about to get up when he heard a soft chime and glanced over at his PC, noticing a new email. He swung his legs off the bed and rose, moving to the screen and sitting, before opening the email, which was from Argus, the company behind SAO.

Congratulations! We at Argus would like to offer you our thanks for being such a dedicated beta-tester for Sword Art Online! Thanks to players like you, we have managed to correct all remaining bugs reported to us, and are busy preparing for the launch next week.

Kazuto rolled his eyes a bit at the email. He knew it was impossible to actually correct every single bug in the game, but he had to admit they had done a great job of correcting the many he had reported during the beta test.

We would also like to thank you, Kazuto Kirigaya, for not only reporting many critical issues to us, but also for reaching the highest level of any beta tester, giving us invaluable data as we move forward. In light of this, not only are we including a game key for your use when the game officially launches, so you do not need to stand in line hoping to acquire a copy, but we are shipping you a second Nerve Gear set, along with a second copy of the game for you to gift to a friend or family member!

Now _that_ surprised him. Nerve gear sets were expensive - he had had to beg his aunt to supplement his savings to be able to acquire his set to begin with. If he wanted to, he could likely turn around and sell the set _and_ the extra copy of the game for a huge amount of money, easily recouping his costs and then some.

_Then again_, he thought, _maybe..._

He knew he had been distant and cold towards his Aunt and Suguha for the last few years, and he also knew they had both been hurt by it - especially Sugu. Since he had learned that he was _not_ actually their son and brother, though, he had felt numb. As though he didn't belong anywhere. While he appreciated their taking him in and treating him like - well, like family -he just couldn't help but feel detached.

Lately, however, he had been feeling bad about that, and thought that this might be a chance to make amends, somewhat. He wasn't entirely sure Sugu would want to give it a try, but she was so dedicated to her Kendo studies the idea of a game with sword battles might just appeal to her. Of course, that meant that his idea of remaining entirely as a solo player like he preferred would be shot, at least when Sugu had free time, but he thought that might be a small price to pay to make his cousin happy.

Smiling faintly, he rose and went out to the kitchen, preparing some food for them both.

* * *

Not more than half an hour later, as Kazuto sat with his homework open in front of him, he heard the door open and shut, and Sugu's voice filled the house. "I'm home! Kazuto?"

He looked up from the work that he was having trouble concentrating on anyway and called out an answer. "I'm in here."

A moment later, Suguha stepped into the room and smiled slightly when she saw the food waiting for her. The smile didn't really reach her eyes, though, as she sat down with a thump. She glanced at him, and opened her mouth as if to say something, but then seemed to shake herself and instead pulled the covered plate over to her and began unwrapping it.

Kazuto felt guilt washing over him, knowing how much Sugu looked up to him. He easily remembered the times when they were younger, when she would ride around on his shoulders or the two of them would spend hours playing games together. Remembering the way she had always seemed to love spending time with him regardless of whether she was interested in the activity itself, he knew how much it must have hurt her when he pulled away.

For the first time, he really thought about what his actions had done to the others around him. It was hardly their fault he had been born to different parents, and he knew they could just as easily have been cold to him as he had been to them. They hadn't though, not even when he retreated to his online gaming and sullen attitudes.

Looking up, he cleared his throat. Suguha jumped, her eyes looking up and meeting his. Forcing a smile, he said, "Sugu.. How was Kendo practice?"

Her eyes widened a bit, not unexpectedly since he hadn't asked her about practice in a long time. After a moment of shock, however, she grinned and replied. "It was good! Ami and Rosa said that I'm getting faster, and I have been working on my footwork so I feel more solid before I press any attacks. You should come see the nex—" she trailed off, suddenly unsure of herself.

He smiled back. "I'd like that."

"You - you would?"

"Yeah, just because I stopped going to Kendo doesn't mean I lost interest in it. I just.." this time he was the one who trailed off, as he tried to explain his feelings. "When ojiisan was making me go, I felt so bored and annoyed that I _had_ to be there. Everything seemed like it was going in slow motion, and I couldn't take it anymore."

She nodded. "I remember you always won. I was so jealous, but I knew I wanted to be like you. That's why I kept going after you quit." Her voice had gotten quiet, and she looked down at the table. "I missed being able to practice together."

_Well, if that isn't a perfect opening_, he thought, _I don't know what is._ "Sugu, have you ever heard of Sword Art Online?"

She cocked her head to the side in thought, but then shook her head. "Let me guess, another of your online games?"

"Yeah, except this one is different. It's a VRMMO - a virtual reality game where you actually fight monsters with swords using your own skill."

"Sounds neat, but if it uses that Nerve-thingy you got it's super-expensive and we couldn't play together anyway, right? Mom and I couldn't afford another one."

"It is really expensive, yes. But.." He hesitated, suddenly unsure how to continue without it sounding as if he was bragging. "I.. I won a contest, and got a second set for free. If.. If you wanted, we could try it together when it launches next week."

Her eyes got really big and she seemed unable to say anything for a moment. Then she suddenly launched herself at him and he found himself wrapped in a tight hug. "Oni-chan, that would be wonderful!" He felt dampness on his shoulder, and realized she was crying.

Putting his arms around her, he squeezed her back. "The monsters can be really tough, Sugu. I'm glad I'll have you there to watch my back."

She pulled back slightly, wiping her eyes but smiling at him. "Always!"


	2. Chapter 2: Unexpected Reconnection

**Chapter 02**

Suguha finished the dishes and then left Kazuto at the table with his homework while she went to her room, dropped her bag, and grabbed some pajamas before heading to the bath. As she ran the water, she thought about what had happened in the last half hour.

Her brother had not only started a real conversation with her, but invited her to join him in one of his games. She couldn't remember the last time they had actually spent any real time together. It had been years, at least, and she missed him. She wasn't sure why he had withdrawn into himself, but their mother had simply shaken her head and said, "He's like me a bit - wrapped up in computers and with his head in the clouds. We just need to give him space, and time, and remember we're still family."

She slipped into the tub of hot water as she thought how she wasn't exactly sure why they needed to remember they were family, but she had tried giving him space and time. The problem was, it hadn't gotten any better, and she she had come to realize it hurt more than she realized at first. Kazuto had always been there for her, whether it was as someone to hang out with, or someone she could run to when she had nightmares. She had spent more than a few nights curled up in her brother's bed when she was too afraid to lay in her own bed in the dark, and he had never judged her or told anyone. He had simply wrapped his arms around her and whispered that she was safe, and she had drifted off to sleep feeling warm and knowing she was.

And then, something had just.. changed. She wished she knew what it was. What she had done wrong. He had briefly seemed so angry around all of them, and then it was like everything just drained out of him and he started going through the motions of living and being her brother, without any actual presence behind it.

She began washing her hair and closed her eyes. _No._ _I will focus on what I can do now, not what happened then. He reached out tonight, made an effort, and I haven't seen that in so long. _She remembered the days they would practice kendo together, and the laughter they shared as they both focused on the exercises and the bond they had. They had each learned to predict the movements of the other, sometimes so well it seemed they could play out an entire match before either of them started moving. The few times they had participated in doubles matches had proven that, as they seemed to move as one entity, overwhelming their opponents without the need to speak at all.

She wondered what this game would be like. She had never been very much into video games, though her friends had dragged her to arcades occasionally before or after karaoke. She had seen the advertisements for the nerve gear, but hadn't really given it much thought, assuming most of the hype was PR spin. It couldn't be as realistic as they claimed, after all. She knew even the most advanced games in the arcades were still cartoonish and screamed "game".

She wasn't entirely sure what the concept of a "full-dive" really meant. Still, she figured she had a week to read up on things before the game actually started, and that was a week she could focus on trying to reconnect more with Kazuto. Finishing her bath and getting ready for bed, she thought that this day had been a very, very good day.

* * *

The next week passed quickly, with school and kendo club, but also spending time with Kazuto. He introduced her to some of the games he played online, and gave her the basics on how Sword Art Online would play. He also let her play around with the character creation options in a number of games, so she could get a feel for how she wanted to look when SAO began. He explained that this was so she could quickly create a character and the two of them could meet and begin playing immediately.

She had a difficult time thinking of a user name. When Kazuto explained that he used a blend of his real names together to form his, she laughed and teased him about a lack of creativity, but when she spent three days trying to think of something, he began teasing her in return.

Finally, the day before the game was to launch, the two of them were in the back yard, practicing some kendo together. Kazuto was a bit rusty, obviously, but he had kept a lot of the muscle memory and talent he had from when he used to practice regularly. Suguha still won most of their matches, but considering he hadn't participated in a lesson or tournament in years, she was surprised and proud of how well he did.

During one sparring match, after an intense series of thrusts, blocks, and evasions, she saw his guard dip slightly, and took advantage of the momentary lapse by setting her stance and lunging forward in a thrust to the center of his chest. He tried to bring his shinai back to block, but was too far out of position. Just before the wood of her blade struck him, a gust of wind blew through the yard, and a swirl of leaves flew between the two of them. Her shinai ended pressed against his chest, with a single leaf trapped there, fluttering weakly in the last of the breeze.

Kazuto looked down and grinned wryly. "Nice work. That would have left a mark if not for the padding."

She blushed, realizing that she was inordinately pleased that she had drawn such a compliment from him, and that he did not know just what it meant to her. Gazing at the leaf, the moment seemed perfect, and she suddenly realized she knew what sort of username she would end up choosing.

She looked up with a smile. "Think I'm ready for tomorrow?"

Rubbing his chest where she had struck him and grinning, he answered. "You're probably more ready than I am, Sugu. I just hope you like the game, I don't want to drag you into anything you're going to regret."

She shook her head and walked over, reaching around and embracing him. "I'm not going to regret anything, oni-chan. I'm going to learn what you love about these games, we're going to kick some monster butt together, or whatever you call it, and I'm just happy to be spending time with you."

They cleaned up, made dinner, and finished the night with some homework. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, after all, and neither wanted to be distracted.


	3. Chapter 3: Unexpected Request

Finally, the time had come. Kazuto glanced at the clock, which read 11:53am. He had slept in a bit in preparation for being online late into the evening. Sugu had finally woken him up in her usual bouncing manner, teasing him and tickling him as he groggily tried to fend her off while laughing and squirming around. Then she had surprised him by leaning over and kissing his cheek quickly, before standing up and yelling "Breakfast is ready! Although it's more like lunch, sleepyhead!" before darting out his door.

With his hand on his cheek, he stared after the girl, wide-eyed. Suguha had always been affectionate, but it had been a long time since either of them had felt comfortable with each other enough for gestures like that, and he couldn't help but smile, feeling touched. Thinking back on the past week, he felt glad that he had decided to try to reconnect with her, and realized he was looking forward to the rest of the day even more than he had thought.

He had worried, after making the offer and Suguha had accepted, that he would feel resentful, because he knew he preferred to play alone. In the Beta, he had only partied up a handful of times for some quests designed for groups. It wasn't that he hated other people, but he constantly felt that he was being held back and responsible for others, and he just didn't think he was the kind of person who should be looking after anyone, considering how much of a mess he had made of his own family.

But now he was looking forward to playing with Suguha at his side. He was fairly sure that teaching her the game would be easy, considering her already formidable skills with a shinai, and he knew the two of them got along well enough without worrying about disagreements.

He got up and dressed, and made his way down to the kitchen, where Suguha had a plate set out for him. Eating his rice and miso soup, he was thinking of the coming hours and didn't realize Suguha was speaking to him until she reached over and rapped him on the top of his head. He blinked and turned to look at her.

"Earth to Kazuto! You've been staring off into nothing for the last ten minutes, ignoring me!"

He blushed. "S-Sorry, Sugu. Just thinking ahead." The clock on the wall now read 12:24pm. "Not much time left now. You have the nerve gear all set up and ready to go?"

She nodded, rolling her eyes. "You helped me set it up days ago, and have asked me every day since. Yes, it's ready and the game is loaded. Geez, you act like being five minutes late would be the worst thing in the entire world!" She laughed at his grimace as she said that.

"I.. It's just a different world, Sugu. You know how much I played it during the beta test, and I miss it. It feels so real, and it's just you and your sword. It's like you can do anything!" His voice rose as he spoke, and she covered her hand with her mouth to cover a smile. He really was adorable when he started getting worked up about this game, she thought, blushing as she watched his bangs wave in front of his eyes as he went on about it in more detail.

A short while later, they had cleaned up from breakfast and stood in the hallway before Suguha's room. He grinned at her, and raised a fist, which she bumped with her own. "Remember, we'll meet in front of the teleport gate platform of the city we'll spawn in. See you in a few, Sugu."

She beamed at him. "Right!"

The two went into their rooms and got comfortable on their beds, putting the nerve gear on and turning the power on. As the clock ticked over to 1:00, Kazuto smiled and closed his eyes.

"Link, start!"

Color exploded in front of him, and he went whirling through the familiar pull of the virtual connection.

* * *

A few moments later, with his settings and avatar from the Beta loaded, Kirito opened his eyes in the Town of Beginnings and took a look around. He was clearly one of the first to load in, since he was able to skip a large portion of the setup and avatar creation process. Every so often, another person would flash into existence around the courtyard he was standing in, and the soft murmur of NPC shopkeepers and amazed exclamations of new players blended together in the background.

Raising his hand in front of him, he clenched his fist and smiled. "Hello, world. I'm back!"

He turned and strode across the courtyard to the large platform housing the inactive teleport gate, taking a moment as he did to open his menu and set a few preferences he liked, as well as checking his starting equipment and sword skills.

As he finished with those, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see a blonde in green clothing standing there smiling at him. Since she looked generally how Suguha had described her plans for her avatar, and he figured no one else would be randomly tapping his shoulder, he grinned. "So, what do you think, Su-" He cut off abruptly and looked sheepish. "Err, sorry. I shouldn't use your real name here, it's considered rude. But, uhh.. I don't actually know your name here."

She laughed and held out her fist. "Well, I'm pretty sure I know yours, _Kirito_, despite you suddenly looking like a swimsuit model!" He blushed. "This is amazing! It's so.. so.. real! Oh, I'm Leafa! Nice to meet ya!" He bumped her fist with his even as he rolled his eyes at the rhyme.

"Right. Well, then." He quickly opened his menu and sent both a friend request and a party invite to Leafa. As she tapped the accept buttons, he saw her health bar appear below his in the upper-left corner of his vision, and a soft chime indicated her addition to his friends list. "First thing's first, let's set up some preferences for you."

He walked her through some of the preferences and options in her menu, similar to what he had done for his. Then, after having her equip her starting sword, he grinned and looked her in the eyes. "Now for the fun part! Let's go!"

He turned and began running, heading for the main gate of the town, quickly hearing Leafa's footsteps following his. As he turned a corner and dashed down an alleyway he knew as a shortcut to get outside, he heard a third set of footsteps and a yell.

"Hey, you two!"

Kirito and Leafa skidded to a stop, looking behind them as a tall man with a scruffy sort of beard and long pinkish hair ran up to them and immediately bent over, seemingly out of breath.

"Who, us?" he asked, head tilted to one side.

"Yeah! You two look like you know what you're doing. You were in the beta, right?" he smiled up at them.

Kirito opened his mouth to reply, but Leafa beat him to it. "He was. I'm brand new to all of this, but he's going to show me the ropes. I'm Leafa!"

Whatever response he was expecting, it wasn't what happened next. The man seemed to freeze for a long moment, and then suddenly bowed to Leafa, at an impressively precise angle, and stammered out "H-hi! I'm Klein, 22, single, and-"

He cut off as Kirito suddenly stepped in front of Leafa and shoved him hard. He fell over and looked up in shock as the other man glared at him. "First off, she's only 13, and second she's my sister so back off!"

"Y-yeah, okay! S-sorry! I was just.."

"What do you want?" snapped Kirito.

Klein grimaced. "Look, I'm really sorry if I got off on the wrong foot. I'm just new to this, too, and was hoping maybe you could show me the basics. I'm begging you! You're already going to be showing her, right? And I promise I'll pay you back someday!"

Kirito still looked angry, but Leafa burst out laughing. "Oh, come on Ka- Kirito. He's just a goofball, it's pretty obvious he's harmless. What's one more for a few hours?"

Kirito sighed but shook his head. "Fine. Let's get outside, and I'll show you some attacks."

Klein stood up and smiled hesitantly. "Awesome! Nice to meet'cha!"

Together the three turned and made their way outside the town towards the open fields.


	4. Chapter 4: Unexpected Fun

Leafa could barely keep herself from laughing the entire afternoon. She, Kirito and Klein were in an open field just a stone's throw away from the walls of the Town of Beginnings, and at the moment Klein had just been knocked on his rear end by a charging boar - _again_. It wasn't the first time. It wasn't even the tenth time. Honestly, she had lost count how many times the man had gone sprawling in the dirt, either knocked there by another of the large, hairy creatures, or throwing himself to the side to avoid their charges.

This time, he had not been paying attention, and it had charged him while he was asking Kirito a question, and nailed him directly in the groin, sending him skidding across the path and into the grass, clutching at his privates and yowling in pain. Giving in, Leafa bent over and laughed, gasping "Oh come on, we can't even feel pain in here!" Next to her, Kirito looked like he was biting his tongue to keep from joining her in laughing at their companion.

She watched as he stepped across the path and helped Klein to his feet. "You're still trying to do everything on your own. Let the system help. If you just do the initial motions right..." he trailed off, and leaned down to pick a pebble up from the ground. Cocking his arm back, he held it a moment and the pebble began to glow with a light purple hue. "... and then activate the Sword Skill at the right time, the system pretty much does the rest for you, guaranteeing you'll hit your target." His arm suddenly whipped forward and the pebble zipped across and hit another boar in the flank. It squealed and turned to face them, pawing at the ground.

As Kirito drew his sword and blocked the charge of the boar, Klein frowned. "But I've seen both of you kill these things without any sort of glowing effects or obviously system-controlled movements!"

Kirito nodded, shoving the boar backwards and kicking it towards Klein. "Yes, but Leafa and I both know how to use a sword IRL, so for weak mobs like this, we don't have to rely on Sword Arts. Now, like I showed you!"

As the boar charged at Klein, he pulled his sword back and up, level with his head. It took on a red glow and the system produced a soft chime, and as the creature got close, he started moving it forward. Kirito yelled, "Now, drive it home!" The system took over and suddenly he dashed forward, his blade slicing along the side of the boar leaving a long gash of red pixels. As he came to a stop a few steps later, frozen in the post-Art cooldown period, the boar exploded into shards behind him.

Leafa grinned as he straightened a moment later and began celebrating. She understood where the guy was coming from, as she had to admit she also felt a rush of exhilaration after defeating enemies in this game world. Kirito rolled his eyes at Klein and made a "woah-there" gesture. "Congratulations, but that boar is about as weak as slimes in most other games. Really, training like this is about the only purpose it has here."

Klein's shoulders dropped and he growled. "Oh, come on! I thought that thing was at least a mid-level boss!"

Kirito shook his head as more boars began spawning in the area. "Not even close."

Leafa turned and took advantage of their conversation to kill a few more boars on her own, alternating between kendo style motions and an occasional sword skill. The exp and drops were very low, but the practice was good, and she still felt a bit of awe that everything around her was just a digital game.

Klein watched her for a moment. "So, there are a ton of skills in this game, right? Like blacksmithing and stuff?"

Kirito nodded. "Supposedly, they're unlimited. But there's no magic, though. The sword skills are this game's version of magic, I guess."

Leafa looked back over her shoulder at the two of them. "That stinks! I would have loved to be able to cast magic! Although, knowing how these things work, I probably would have had to memorize some long, weird-sounding language or something. Whatever, I'm having fun with this anyway."

Kirito smiled at her. "I'm glad. I was a bit worried you wouldn't really enjoy it. I didn't want you to feel like I dragged you into this."

As she killed her most recent target, she turned and ran over to him, throwing her arms around him. "No! Not at all! I really am having fun, and I'm really glad you brought me with you!" He smiled at her and ran his free hand down her hair.

Klein watched the two of them and muttered something under his breath that sounded like "Lucky.."

She blushed and let go of Kirito, turning to scan the field so neither of the men would see her face. "So, should we keep going for a while?"

The two nodded and answered together, "Yeah!"

The three spent the afternoon clearing the fields of boars and moved on to some areas a bit further out after the ones surrounding the town started to get crowded. After a time, they had taken down an occasional wolf, a much more aggressive and difficult enemy than the beginning boars. Working together, they had each reached level two, which Kirito had said was quite an accomplishment so quickly, as it had taken him much longer solo in the beta.

As they finished with their latest kill, she turned to Klein and gestured to the empty area around them. "Looks like we've cleaned this place out. Want to move and keep going?"

He hesitated. "I do, but-" His stomach chose that moment to rumble, loudly. "I'm really hungry, and I think I need to log out for a bit. I ordered a pizza for 5:30."

She realized she was also getting hungry, but the fun she was having had hidden it from her. She had also been enjoying that she had spent almost the entire day with Kirito, and that was something she hadn't really been able to do in years. "Okay. Well, maybe after you get back?" She opened her menu and sent the scruffy-looking man a friend request.

Klein looked surprised for a moment, before accepting, and sending one of his own to Kirito. Her brother hesitated for a moment before hitting Yes. "Sounds good! Thanks again, you two were a huge help. I'll be sure to pay you back someday! Err, virtually, that is. Hey.." He hesitated himself now. "I was gonna meet up with a bunch of my friends later. If you want, I could introduce you and we could all hang out!"

Leafa wasn't sure how she felt about the offer, thinking that a crowd of people would mean less interaction she could have with Kirito, but before she could answer at all, Kirito himself said "I don't know.. I..."

Klein and Leafa could both tell the young man was uncomfortable, and although Leafa knew it was because her brother just wasn't very good with other people, Klein seemed to pick up on it quickly as well. "Ah, hey, no worries! Another time, maybe! Thanks again!" He held out a hand, and Kirito shook it. Then he turned and waved at her before swiping to open his menu.

She waved at him before turning to Kirito and raising an eyebrow. "How about you? Should we keep going, or did you want to log out, too?"

His response was pre-empted, however, as Klein suddenly made a surprised sound, and said "What the-? The logout button is missing!"

"Eh?" She and Kirito both turned to look back at the other man. "It should be there at the bottom," she said.

"I know, but.. It's there, but it's grayed out and I can't get it to do anything."

Kirito opened his menu and was met by the same result. "You're right.."

Klein seemed to shrug. "Well, it's the first day. I guess there's bound to be some bugs."

Although Leafa agreed with him, Kirito shook his head. "This is more than a bug. If no one can log out, this is going to be a huge problem for the company behind SAO. Maybe you should try to contact a GM."

Klein gestured at his menu. "Yeah, I did that but no one's answering. There's got to be another way out of this, right?" He barely paused before raising his voice and yelling, "System logout! System exit! Menu command, quit!" All the while he was making gestures and jumping up and down, making it look as though he were doing some sort of odd dance.

Leafa was torn between being amused at his antics, and concerned about the situation. It couldn't be that bad, really, though, she thought. If millions of people were trapped in a game, it would be noticed and fixed pretty fast.

Klein had now resorted to pulling on his head, knocking his bandana askew and making it partially cover his eyes. "I'll just yank the nervegear off!"

Leafa rolled her eyes. "Even I know that won't work. Did you not read the book that came with this thing? When you're in a full-dive, the nerve gear intercepts everything between your brain and your body. You can't move a muscle back there."

Kirito nodded. "She's right. If we can't log out on our own, we have to wait for them to fix this or someone to come along and pull the nervegear off of us."

She realized he must be thinking of the fact that their mother likely wouldn't be home until very late that night. Klein, on the other hand, looked even more concerned. "I.. I live alone. You two?"

Kirito answered. "We live with our mother, and I'm pretty sure she'll know something's wrong when she gets home from work, but that'll be a while still. This is going to make a lot of people really upset. You'll be even more so in a minute. Check the time."

Klein's eyes darted up and to the right where his clock would be, and he blanched. "Oh, no! It's past 5:30! My teriyaki mayo pizza and ginger ale!"

She giggled. "Well, I feel sorry for the delivery driver who won't be getting a tip."

Kirito looked down. "We're stuck here for now. I'm sure this will get noticed soon, but.."

Leafa nodded at him. "Something feels wrong, doesn't it?"

He hesitated, as though trying to decide if he should put on a brave face for her sake, before sighing and nodding again. "Yeah. I get a feeling that something is really not right here."

She took his hand and squeezed it. "At least we're together. Whatever this is, we're not alone."

He looked at her and the corner of his mouth quirked up. "Right. Thanks, S- Leafa."

Klein cleared his throat, and for some reason she felt herself blushing again. "What am I, chopped liver?"

Kirito grinned at the man. "No, of course not. We'll all-"

He cut off as just then, a loud peal of bells rang out from the town. Kirito looked surprised. "I don't remember ever hearing those in the beta. I wonder if it's some sort of announcement. Maybe we should head back, and-"

Suddenly, a brilliant white light flared all around them, and she felt a sense of dizziness and disorientation taking hold of her. She clutched tighter to Kirito's hand, and a moment later, the light faded and she was standing back in the center of the town where she had spawned initially. "What?"

"Someone forced a teleport." Kirito's voice was serious, and she turned to see him staring up at the sky, where a single red message was flashing against the early evening sky. WARNING

"What is that?" Klein asked, and she realized he had appeared right next to them as well.

"Whatever it is, it's not good." she voiced.

* * *

**A/N:** A few quick notes, here. First of all, to those of you who have complained that this is following the main story too closely, this is only chapter 4. There will be quite a lot of divergence, but it's going to be a slow build. At this point, not a lot has happened that would make things go differently. That's going to change.

Second, those of you complaining about the pairing(s) - this is _not_ going to change. The reason I posted these in the initial story summary was so that anyone who is upset about a story with a Kirito/Asuna pairing could easily skip this. A number of people have been very vocal about how Suguha being there would absolutely prevent any relationship with Asuna from happening. Obviously, I disagree, and I plan to show how in the course of this story, but the real point here is that if you're so desperate for alternate pairings, there are other stories out there that do that.

And lastly, I do not, unfortunately, have a regular update schedule planned for this, although I do hope, in general, to post a chapter every few days. I am in the middle of packing my apartment to move, so the next few weeks are going to be chaotic and require a lot of energy from me, but I am using this story as one of my primary 'escapes' so to speak, so it won't be getting ignored.

Thanks to all of you who are reading, following, and reviewing. Yes, even the criticisms. I appreciate that you're taking the time to read this, and that you're so invested in this world we all love. Til next time!


	5. Chapter 5: Unexpected Announcement

Kirito stood in the plaza, packed among hundreds and hundreds of players, with Klein standing next to him and Leafa holding on to his arm. He could feel the crush of people pressing in on him, and his discomfort with crowds and people was screaming in his head. At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to run away. To run away, find someplace to hide, and just be alone. But he felt Leafa trembling against him, and knew that he didn't have that luxury right now. She might be more comfortable among other people than he was, but she had zero experience in environments like the one they currently found themselves in, or in games in general.

Reaching up with his left arm, he put it around her shoulders and pulled her against him. "It's going to be okay. No matter what happens, I'm here, and I won't let anything happen to you." he whispered in her ear. He felt her tighten her grip on his arm, but she stopped trembling so badly.

Then, the red warning flashing in the sky began to multiply, spreading across the clouds and turning the entire area dark red in color. Some of the messages simply repeated the WARNING from the first one, but others proclaimed SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT. Then, what looked like blood began oozing from between the hexagons, and dripping from the grid. Instead of falling on the heads of everyone gathered there, however, the liquid instead pooled together in the air, and began growing into a massive figure.

A brief moment later, the red-cloaked shape of a human loomed over them all. Kirito felt Leafs stir against him, and heard her ask, "Is.. Is that a Game Master?"

He shook his head. "Whenever I interacted with a GM during the beta, they used a normal human avatar just like ours, although they had a GM tag over their head so you knew what they were. This is.." He trailed off. "This is different."

Around them, he heard other players also asking what was happening and others trying to brush it off with variations of "Don't worry, it's just a part of the opening ceremonies" or "I'm sure they'll tell us the bug is getting fixed now."

Seeming to observe the players for a moment, the looming figure spread its arms wide, and a loud voice filled the entire town.

**"Attention, players. I welcome you to my world."**

Kirito was puzzled. "What's he mean by that?" _His world_, he thought. _Could this be..?_

**"My name is Akihiko Kayaba, and as of this moment, **_**I**_** am in control of this world."**

Some of the surrounding players were laughing, seeming impressed by the massive figure in front of them. "Well, that's some entrance!"

"Wow, is it really him?!"

**"I'm sure most of you have already noticed an item missing from your main menus. The logout button." The robed figure gestured, and a menu appeared in the air before it, revealing the missing logout option to everyone, regardless of whether they had discovered it on their own or not. "Let me assure you, this is not a defect in the game. I repeat, this is **_**not**_** a defect! This is how Sword Art Online was designed to be."**

Next to him, Klein's jaw dropped. "He's.. kidding, right?"

**"You cannot log yourselves out of SAO, and no one from the outside will be able to shut down or remove the nerve gear from your head. If anyone attempts to do so, a transmitter inside the nerve gear will discharge a microwave signal into your skull, destroying your brain, and ending your life."**

The crowd began muttering, some yelling loudly, and a few began making noises of disgust and turning to leave. One pair, a man in a brown leather vest and a woman in a pink skirt and blouse, reached the edge of the town and suddenly ran into an invisible barrier. The man began pounding a fist against it, while yelling "Hey, I can't get out!"

Klein turned to Kirito and Leafa. "Are you two listening to this crap? He's gotta be nuts, right?" When Kirito didn't answer, the man looked harder at him. "Right, Kirito?"

Kirito didn't want to answer, with Leafa there and beginning to tremble again, but he couldn't very well lie to them about this. "He's not. The transmitter signals in the headgear work just like microwaves. If the safety's disabled, it-" he cut off, looking down at his cousin. _I'm so sorry, Sugu. I dragged you into this. It's all my fault._ "It could fry your brain."

Klein thought for a second before asking, "Couldn't someone.. you know.. cut the power, or..?"

He shook his head. "That won't work. The nerve gear's got an internal battery."

Klein shook himself and made a growling noise. "This is crazy! It's totally crazy!"

The figure began speaking again. "**Despite my warnings, the family and friends of some of the players have attempted removing the nerve gear. An unfortunate decision, to say the least. As a result, the game now has two hundred and thirteen less players than when it began. They've been deleted from both Aincrad **_**and**_** the real world.**"

Leafa let out a small whimpering sound. "T-Two hundred and thirteen?"

Klein shook his head in disbelief. "No way. I don't believe it!"

Kayaba gestured again, and screens appeared in the air between him and the players, showing newscasts and articles with headlines about the game like '_Death Count Rises in Online Game Incident_'. "**As you can see, international media outlets have round-the-clock coverage of everything, including the deaths. At this point, it's safe to assume the likelihood of a nerve gear being removed is minimal at best. I hope this brings you a little comfort as you try to clear the game.**"

One screen showed a woman standing in front of a cordoned off police line, crying. His muscles froze, and next to him, he felt Leafa shudder and heard her agonized whisper. "Mom..."

"**It's important you remember the following. There is no longer any way to revive someone within the game. If your HP drops to zero, your avatar will be deleted from within the system, forever, and the nerve gear will simultaneously destroy your brain.**"

Kirito gasped, remembering countless moments during the beta test where he had died and been forced to respawn. It was, after all, a normal, expected part of an RPG game. He had even done some scouting at times by removing his gear and running through enemies just to gain the map data before enough of them caught up with him to kill him, and then respawned, laughing.

"**There is only one way for a player to escape now. You must clear the game. Right now, you're gathered on floor one, the lowest level of Aincrad. If you can get through the dungeon and defeat the boss, you may advance to the next floor. Defeat the boss on floor one hundred, and you will clear the game.**"

He heard another player in the crowd yell out, "Why should we believe anything you're saying?!"

Klein, meanwhile, turned to him, looking ashen. "We can't clear all one hundred floors. It's freakin' impossible! Even the beta testers never made it that high!" Kirito shook his head, knowing how much time and how many deaths had gone into him reaching level ten.

"**Last but not least, I've placed a little present in the item storage of every player. Please, have a look.**"

Kirito reached up and opened his menu, as he noticed all of the others doing as well from his peripheral vision. Navigating to his inventory, he found one item that hadn't been there from his earlier hunting. "A mirror?" Tapping on it, it appeared in his hand. It seemed to show nothing out of the ordinary, and he was momentarily confused, before suddenly he heard Klein yell and looked over to see a brilliant white light surrounding the other man. "Klein!"

Next to him, the same thing happened to Leafa, who had let go of his arm to manipulate her menu, and a moment later, he saw the same light engulf him, blinding him so he had to shut his eyes. Even with his eyes closed, the light was so bright he squeezed them tighter, as the entire population of the game seemed affected. When it faded, he opened his eyes and blinked around.

"Are you okay, Kirito?" Klein's voice asked, and he turned to reassure the man.

"Yeah, I'm- Wait. Who are you?" The man standing before him wore the same clothes as Klein, and had the same bandana tied around his head, but the face was entirely different, seeming less refined, more scruffy, and altogether more real than before.

"I'm me - who are you?" the man asked. Looking down into the mirror he was still holding, he saw not his avatar, but his own face from real life staring back at him. No longer a cool and confident man with the face of a model, he was just the same scrawny fourteen year old he was back in his room. _Great_, he thought. _Now I get to be the forgettable otaku even in here._

"Kaz- K-Kirito?" Spinning around, he saw Sugu standing there. No longer the blonde, tall girl he had been partying with, but his cousin, with her short dark hair and dark gray eyes, short enough to only reach his chest. She had tears in her eyes. "How?"

His eyes widened as he realized. "The scan! There's a high density signal device inside the nerve gear rig. It can see what our faces look like." He spun around to see Klein nodding. "But.. How's it know our heights and body types?" He didn't notice Suguha blush and cross her arms over her chest behind him.

Klein looked thoughtful for a second. "When you first put the nerve gear on, it had you run this calibration thing. It asked you to touch your body all over, like this, remember?" he asked while touching his arms and legs.

Kirito nodded. "Oh, yeah. You're right. That's where it got our physical data."

Klein grabbed his own head. "But.. Why? Why would anyone do this to us?!"

Kirito noticed the figure of Kayaba beginning to gesture again, and pointed at him. "I think he's about to tell us."

"**Right now, you're probably wondering why. Why would Akihiko Kayaba, developer of Sword Art Online and nerve gear, do this? Ultimately my goal was a simple one. The reason that I created Sword Art Online, was to control the fate of a world of my design.**"

The sheer hubris and gall that statement held sparked a rage inside Kirito. He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. "Kayaba..."

"**As you can see, I have achieved my goal. This marks the end of the tutorial, and the official launch of Sword Art Online. Players, I wish you the best of luck!**"

The avatar of Kayaba began to melt back into the red liquid, which then rose back to the ceiling above and disappeared. After the last of the liquid vanished, the red hexagonal warnings also blinked out, and the view above returned to its normal appearance - that of clouds, with the floor of the next level visible beyond them.

For a solid thirty seconds, no one moved or said anything at all. The shock from what they had just seen paralyzed every one of the thousands of players standing in the town center, staring at the space Kayaba had occupied moments earlier.

Kirito's head was spinning. He had immersed himself in SAO and the surrounding lore for so long now, during development and the beta, that he knew Kayaba better than most of the people surrounding him were likely to. He had read every article on the man, watched every interview, and even read technical documents that had been leaked and released, since his interest in computer programming and VR design had made him want to understand how this miracle of technology could exist.

And because of that, he had not one shred of doubt in his mind, that Kayaba had not been lying, or pulling any sort of elaborate prank. Every word he had said was the truth. They were no longer playing a game. This was real. Everything around them was their new reality. If they died here-

He cut himself off from those thoughts, as he glanced to the side and saw Sugu standing there trembling, looking as if she were about to fall down and start crying. _No. I can do this. _We_ can do this. We need to get strong, fast. And the best way to do that-_

A scream cut through the air, and as if that was a trigger announcing the start of a race, the crowd began yelling, and the air took on a dangerous charge to it. As one player shoved blindly past them, shoving Suguha into him, he realized just how bad their position was. Taking her hand in his, he placed his other hand on her shoulder and looked her in the eyes.

"Sugu, we need to get out of here, now."

Her eyes were glazed over with fear, and she met his gaze through tears. "But.."

He squeezed her hand. "Do you trust me?"

She stared at him for a long moment before squeezing his hand back. "I- Of course." She nodded.

He smiled at her. "Good. Now, we.." he trailed off as he turned his head and saw Klein standing there watching them. He hesitated briefly, but he realized that just as he was responsible for Sugu, he couldn't turn his back on their new friend. "Klein, we're headed for the next town. Once everyone here calms down and gets organized, the fields here will get farmed to nothing, and there's only so much col and exp to go around until things respawn. If we want to survive here, we need to get ahead of things. You should come with us."

Klein looked at him for a moment as if considering it, but then shook his head. "Thanks, but.. You know those guys I told you about? My friends that waited in line with me to buy this thing? They're here, somewhere, and I can't abandon them. I can't ask you to risk your life, wait around and try to help all of us, so don't worry about it. You obviously have your own priority." He nodded at Sugu as he said this. "Besides, last game I played I ran a guild, so I'll be fine with what you taught me. Get out of here!"

Kirito hesitated, but the crowd was getting more and more restless, and they were beginning to get pushed from all sides. "Okay. If that's how you want it. But, Klein, if you ever need anything, message me, okay?"

Klein grinned at him. "Will do. We'll be fine, so you have to be, too. Stay alive, you hear me?"

Kirito nodded and held out his hand, which Klein grabbed and shook.

"Oh, and hey, Kirito? You.. You look better like this. Way cooler than your avatar." Klein stood there, grinning. "And Leafa, you're a lot prettier."

Next to him, he could tell Sugu blushed, but he also knew Klein wasn't trying to be a creep. "Yeah, well.. I think that scruffy face fits you ten times better, too! Be seeing you, Klein."

Taking a firm hold of Sugu's hand, he began moving quickly through the crowd. As soon as they reached the edge of the plaza, he began running. Sugu kept up with him, running alongside him. He led her through some back streets, using shortcuts he had learned in the beta to get them to the city gates without worrying about the crowds. As they dashed through the main gate and onto the path leading away from the Town of Beginnings, Sugu spoke.

"K-Kazuto? Where are we going?"

He smiled at her, what he hoped was a confident look. "The nearest town. I know these roads like the back of my hand, so even though we're level one, I can make sure we get there safely. Once we're there, we'll start hunting and leveling up before the other players can get there, so we won't have to share spawn points with anyone. Plus, there's a quest there we can both take that'll get us a really powerful sword, and if we work to upgrade that it'll be strong enough to get us through the third floor or so before we need to look for a replacement."

She nodded, then her eyes widened and she yelled, "Kazuto, look out!"

He turned his head back to the path to see a dire wolf standing in front of them, growling as they ran towards it. Without pausing, he drew his sword from his back and moved his arm into the position to launch a simple sword art, Horizontal, directly at the beast's eyes. As he launched the skill mid-stride, the system launched him through the air. He and the wolf passed each other, and as the system released him, he paused in the recovery frames of the skill, while behind him, the wolf shattered into blue shards.

Turning, he sheathed his blade with a flourish, and smiled again at Suguha. "We can do this, Sugu. We can survive this, and we _will_ clear the game! Together!"

She smiled back at him as she caught up. Somehow, the despair and terror she had felt earlier in the plaza felt less. Not gone, entirely, but pushed back deep within her by her brother's confidence and promise. He had never lied to her, and she always felt safe with him. That was just one of the things she loved about him. As long as he was with her, she knew they could do anything. "Let's go!" she yelled as they took off running again into the fading sunlight.

A/N: My proofreader/beta has had to step down because of their own time constraints, so if anyone wants to volunteer, I'm (probably pretty obviously based on this chapter) in need of one.


	6. Chapter 6: Unexpected Betrayal

Kirito and Leafa ran through the darkening evening as they headed from the Town of Beginnings towards the nearest town, Horunka. As they did, Kirito found himself thinking about their situation, unsurprisingly. _In a normal MMO, players would be fighting over the chance to be the first to clear the game_, he thought. _It might be the same here, but it's going to be a lot slower, because we can't use the standard strategy of dying or wiping to bosses and learning from it. Instead, we'll have to grind levels and equipment so that we're as far above the recommended level as possible, and even then we'll need to be cautious, so no one dies._

He softly relayed his thoughts to Leafa as they ran, evading most of the wolves on the way, and quickly eliminating the ones that aggro'd on them, working together to stay safe. She seemed concerned, but not panicked. He was proud of her.

"Is there anything in this town we need to do first? I imagine you're going to want to keep moving," she questioned, with a glance at him. "I mean, we may be the first to run here, but I doubt we'll be the only ones."

He nodded. "Yeah. There's a quest in this town that lets you earn a sword called the Anneal Blade. It's strong enough that it will last us a few floors if we upgrade them. The only problem is, the quest is.." He hesitated. "Well, it could be a pain. It requires hunting certain monsters, with a rare drop rate on the item we need. In the beta it wasn't too bad because I was playing alone, and only needed the one, but considering we'll need two, and they may have nerfed the drop rates, too.."

She giggled. "Nerfed? What kind of word is that?"

He blinked at her, having forgotten for a moment that she wasn't really a gamer at all. "Umm. It's a game term, that means the developers made things worse. In this case, it means that the drop rate may have been lowered from 1% to even less. I hope you're prepared for a late night, because I don't think we want to risk leaving it until tomorrow, when a lot more people might have caught up to this village."

She frowned but nodded. "Okay. That's fine, but I hope we don't have to pull an all-nighter."

In the distance, he could see the road curve slightly and then some small lights appear. "We're almost there. We'll stop at the shop to pick up some health potions and then we'll grab the quest and head right out. The sooner we start, the sooner we can sleep and start heading to another town."

"Wow, you're really set on this whole 'Be the strongest' thing, aren't you?" She looked surprised, as if she hadn't expected this from him.

He slowed to a walk as they approached the front gates. "It's not that simple. We have to clear one hundred floors of this world. There are going to be thousands and thousands of monsters, traps, quests, and surprises between us and getting back to the real world. The players at the top, who are going to be fighting the bosses on each floor, are going to be getting the best drops and the most col - that's money here. If we fall behind, if we don't do everything to press ahead further than anyone else, that gap will start to become insurmountable."

As he spoke, they walked in to the town and into the item shop. He asked the shopkeeper for health potions and confirmed the purchase on the menu window that popped up before resuming his speaking. "I don't want to sit around waiting for others to clear this so we can go home. I don't think you do, either."

He nodded as she shook her head. "Right. So we'll have to keep pushing our limits. This.." He trailed off, staring through a wall it seemed, and after a moment she nudged him.

"K-Kazuto? Are you okay?"

He blinked, realizing his eyes felt wet, and turned away. "This isn't going to be easy, Sugu. This isn't going to be quick. In a rough estimate, I'd guess we might be able to finish in three or four months. Spending that long inside another world, especially one where we're going to be fighting for our lives every day? We.. We're not going to come out of this as the same people we are today, and that scares me."

He felt awful for a moment, tensing his shoulders as he realized he was probably letting her down, and scaring her, but unable to lie to her. A second later, though, he felt her arms wrap around him, and her head pressed against the back of his shoulder. "We never go to sleep the same people we woke up as, silly. Of course we're going to change. But that's not something to let worry you. You're a good brother, and a good person, Kazuto. I've always looked up to you, and I know you're not going to become a monster here, no matter what. We'll get through this together, and when we take off these headsets and open our eyes in the real world again, whether that's today or ten years from now, we'll do that together, too." She paused a moment, bracing herself, before she said the words she hadn't said to him in years. "I.. I love you, Kazuto, and I'm glad I'm here with you. As scary as this situation is, I'd hate to think of you alone in here, with me out there worrying about what you were going through. Whatever happens, we do this together."

He tensed all over for a moment, before relaxing. He knew he'd have to tell her the truth at some point, but with everything that they had on their plates today, this was not that time. "I love you too, Sugu." He was still facing the other way, so he didn't see the blush that crossed her face and the smile that suddenly turned the corners of her mouth upwards. "Ok. Let's get the quest and get started before we lose more daylight."

With that, he strode out the shop door and she followed him to a small house a street away. He knocked softly before stepping inside, and held the door for her. Inside, a woman stood in a stained apron, cleaning a table near the window. A small fireplace was burning on the far wall, near a door which led, presumably, further into the home. There was a small pot sitting on the hearth, and a stringent aroma filled the air.

"Oh! Travelers! Welcome to Horunka, good folk. Can I offer you some water? I would that I could offer food, but I have none, I fear. I have had to spend all of my coins on medicine, though that seems a waste, now." She seemed on the verge of tears. Leafa was about to speak, when Kirito held up one hand, then simply said, "Water would be welcome, thank you, Lady."

Before the woman could move, a violent cough came from beyond the door, further in the house. Tears sprung into the woman's eyes, and her hands clenched against her sides. Immediately, Kirito took a small step forward and said, "Is something troubling you, Lady?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a golden exclamation mark appeared over the woman's head and she lifted her eyes to meet theirs. "Actually.. My daughter is very ill, and the medicine we purchased has done nothing. I'm not sure how much longer she has. There is one other thing we could try, but.. The creatures of the forest sometimes carry a flower which can be made into a medicinal salve, but they are too strong for anyone here to overcome. Please, good folk! Find the flowers carried by the plant creatures of the forest and bring them back here for my daughter.. I do not have much, but I have a sword which was once my grandfather's, of no use to me now. I will give you that if you return with the plant."

Kirito quickly agreed, and said "We will find the medicinal flower for you." The exclamation mark over the woman's head changed to a silver question mark, and he turned to leave. Leafa stepped forward then, however, and asked, "Please, miss. If I may ask, what is your daughter's name?"

The woman paused for a moment and then looked directly at Leafa. "Her name is Agatha, good folk. She is a good child, and all I have left of my husband." Her tears flowed down her face as she said this.

Kirito paused. He had never asked the child's name, nor stayed long enough in the beta to see the woman actually cry. Leafa, however, stepped forward and gently embraced the woman, who seemed surprised, and then returned the embrace. He heard Leafa whisper to the woman, "Tell Agatha she'll be well soon. You have my word, we will hurry."

The two of them then left the small home and he led the way into the forest outside the village. He glanced at Leafa out of the corner of his eye. "Sugu. You.. You do realize she's not real, right? That's not a player or a person controlling an avatar. She's just.." He stopped as Leafa cut him off.

"Whatever she is, she was crying at the thought of losing someone she loves." He flinched. "I think that's something we can all empathize with at the moment. It only took a second to try to reassure her."

"R-Right. Well, we'll just-" he cut off as a thought struck him. "Oh, no. I forgot this is meant to be a solo quest. We need to go back and get-" he stopped again as she waved her hand at him.

"Relax, I also accepted the quest. It popped up for me at the same time it popped up for you."

"Oh," he said, looking nonplussed. That wasn't the way it had worked in the beta, he was fairly sure, but clearly things had been changed for the retail release.

The two of them made their way into the forest and he activated his Search skill. Immediately, a few cursors popped up in front of them. He stopped Leafa and explained. "The Little Nepenthes here are plant monsters. They come in packs, though, so it's easy to get surrounded and overwhelmed. I'll go in first and get their attention. Once I use a sword skill, I'll call for a switch, and then you jump in and hit them as hard as you can until you kill it or you use a sword skill and need a second to recover. If you do, just do the same thing and I'll switch back in."

She nodded.

"One more thing. The ones we're looking for have a large red flower on their head. They're rare. But the more we kill, the more will respawn, so we have a better chance of getting what we need if we keep clearing the entire area. Plus, it means more exp and drops for us in general. But some of them have a fruit on top instead. If that's the case you need to be _really_ careful not to hit the fruit. If you do, it explodes into a smelly cloud that attracts more monsters from all over." He stared at Leafa, trying to impress upon her how important this was.

"Got it. Avoid the fruit."

He turned then, stooped and picked up a small pebble from the ground. Even without the _Thrown Weapon_ skill, he could still use the small rock to attract attention. Bringing his arm back, he threw the pebble at one of the cursors, and a moment later saw a pack of the plant-creatures charging through the underbrush at them, and-

"What?!"

His cry should have shattered a window if there were any nearby, he thought, realizing belatedly that he might be attracting more attention than he wanted. But rational thought had left his head for a brief moment when the first Nepenthe he saw break the shadows ahead of him and charging directly at him had a brilliant red flower growing from the back of its head.

He heard Leafa laugh, and a moment later heard her snarky comment. "So, what's the opposite of being Nerfed, Kirito?"

He grumbled but decided to not look a gift horse in the mouth. Or rather, a gift plant in the vine? _That metaphor got away from me, I think._ Regardless, he waited until it was within range, and then quickly activated a Horizontal skill across the face of the leading Nepenthe, which cut its health by about half. The quick delay state at the end of that allowed him to leap back before being sliced by the whip-like tendrils it was waving at him. He circled his way around the group, fighting defensively, until he was on the far side from Leafa. Then he activated a Slant skill before calling out "Switch!"

His own blade cut through the one he had originally hit, and the flower-bearing Nepenthe exploded into blue polygons. His delay state, however, left him vulnerable to a tendril from the one immediately behind it, and he flinched as it whistled towards him. Just before it hit, however, he saw Leafa hurtle into the fray and her own blade came down straight onto the vine, cutting it free from the creature and dissolving it into polygons of its own. She immediately flowed into a follow-up slash against the next one in the group, and he did a double-take before realizing she wasn't using sword-skills at all, but rather just her natural Kendo talent.

He stood and simply stared for a moment, entranced by how smooth and fluid her movements were. It had been a long time since he had merely watched her practice her art, and he had to admit, it was a magnificent sight. Then her voice lashed out and hit him with almost the same force as one of the vines. "Hey, are you planning to help, or just stand there while I do all the work?"

He felt his face flush before he ran forward and joined in. A moment later, the two lowered their blades as the last Nepenthe exploded into digital shards. Bringing up his inventory, he looked at her. "I didn't get the flower, so that must mean you did, right?"

She brought two fingers down in a now-familiar motion and looked in her own inventory. "Yep, one «Little Nepenthes's Ovule». Well, 50% complete. Maybe we'll get an early night after all!"

A little over three hours later, the sun was just barely above the edge of the horizon, and Kirito really wanted to smack Suguha. "You just _had_ to say something, didn't you?" The two had been clearing Nepenthes solidly since that first pack, and had yet to see another flower. He knew the drop rate was bad, but after that first insanely lucky drop, he had hoped...

Suddenly, a rustle in the woods to the side made them both jump back and spin their blades to face the source. Just then, an easy-going voice called out, "Woah, take it easy! I'm not here to ambush you!" A young-looking boy with long brown hair walked out of the forest and waved at them. He smiled slightly, but Kirito felt it didn't reach his eyes, which seemed too serious for someone their age. "I wasn't expecting to bump into anyone out here. I thought I'd be the first. You two must have been in the beta too, then, right?"

Kirito just nodded and lowered his blade, but kept it ready.

"Cool. You doing "Secret Medicine of the Forest", too?"

Kirito spoke before Leafa could. "I am. She's just helping me out." He could feel her eyes on him but ignored the look for a moment.

"Well, want to work together? It'll be easier and safer. My name's Coper, by the way."

Kirito eyed the boy dressed in leathers and holding the same Small Sword as he and Leafa. The newcomer, however, had added a small leather buckler to his equipment. He hesitated, and the other took it to mean he was worried about the drop.

"Eh, no worries, you two were here first, I've no problem if you take the first drop. I'll get the second one. I got jumped by large groups a few times here before, and I'd rather have some backup, is all. But if you don't want to have to hang around a bit longer, I can just move to another region."

Leafa made a small sound, and Kirito sighed. "No, it's fine. Better to cooperate than compete over spawns."

Coper grinned and gave a thumbs-up. The three of them returned to clearing the forest of plant monsters. After another hour and a half, with no more sign of flowers, they were all growling with frustration. "Man, they had to lower the drop rates here, this is ridiculous!" grumped Coper.

Kirito nodded. "Yeah. I figured they'd adjust things for the release, but this is-" he cut off as just then another group spawned in front of them, and right in the center of the pack was a bright red flower. As he started to step forward, however, he realized another group had spawned right behind them, this one with one of the large fruit-bearing types.

Coper turned and waved at the two of them. "Go, get your flower, I'll take care of these guys until you can join me." He ran towards the other group. Kirito was surprised but glad the boy had kept his word and not tried to just kill the flower-bearer for the drop.

"Right! Let's go, Leafa." The two of them waded in and efficiently sliced their enemies down. In just a few minutes, the flower-bearer was the only Nepenthe remaining, and he prepared to strike it down, when he glanced over at Coper, who seemed to be staring at them instead of focusing on fighting the group he was dealing with. Just as their eyes met, he realized what was about to happen, but couldn't get a word out before he heard a soft murmur from the other boy.

"Kirito, Leafa.. I'm sorry about this." The boy then spun and unleashed a simple Horizontal skill across the large fruit, which immediately let out a soft squelching sound, and a foul odor filled the entire region. As if in a daze, Kirito quickly finished off the last Nepenthe before him, sighing with satisfaction as the quest item appeared in the loot window, before seeing Coper dash to the side of the clearing and fade from view as they watched.

Leafa was clearly confused. "What? Why did he..?"

Kirito's voice was flat. "He's trying to kill us."

Leafa's eyes went wide. "What?! How?!"

He gestured at the place the other boy had disappeared. "He's trying to MPK us. It means Monster-Player-Kill. He cut the fruit, and then activated his hide skill. This way, once we're dead, he can loot the quest item from me."

Leafa's face contorted into rage. "Why, that bastard! I'll-"

Kirito cut her off. "You don't have to do anything. He's not as smart as he thinks he is. The thing is, Hide doesn't work against creatures that don't have vision. Anything that tracks prey with other senses, like smell or vibrations - _like Little Nepenthe_."

Abruptly, from the forest where Coper had disappeared, a loud rustling sounded out, followed by shouts of terror. Soon after that, the sound of a body disappearing into blue shards reached their ears.

"Leafa. We've got enemies coming in from all over. This is going to get rough. Are you with me?"

She looked back at him, the fear in her eyes warring with the confidence she always seemed to have in him. Then her eyes narrowed and she grinned, a hard and feral grin. "Always."

The two turned as over a dozen Nepenthe crashed into the clearing from all sides.


End file.
